Half of Jewish Israelis believe annexing West Bank would be a “disaster”

Majority in favor of continued settlement construction, believe Trump will have favorable attitude toward Israel.

Half of Jewish Israelis believe that unilaterally annexing Judea and Samaria would cause problems for the State of Israel, although a significant majority is nevertheless in favor of continued settlement construction by the state.

The polling date issued in the Israel Democracy Institute’s Monthly Peace Index comes against the background of UN Security Council Resolution 2334 condemning settlement activity, along with subsequent declarations by senior government ministers and MKs that Israel should begin steps to annex major settlement blocs and eventually all of Area C of the West Bank

According to the poll, which was conducted between January 2 and 3, some 62% of Jewish Israelis believe that Israel should not cease construction of settlements and homes in the West Bank following the UN resolution, compared to just 29% who said it should.

Forty-five percent said they believe that US President Barack Obama’s decision to abstain on the UN resolution, and thereby let it pass, stemmed mainly from the poor relations between himself and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, compared to 33% who said the decision stemmed from Obama’s principled position on the issue.

At the same time, just 29% of Jewish Israelis said they believed the UN Security Council vote was taken due to a principled position on the issue of settlements in keeping with international law, compared to 53% who said the decision stemmed from hostility toward Israel.

However, despite support for continued settlement construction, a significant number of respondents, some 51%, said that a unilateral annexation of Judea and Samaria would be a disaster, as argued by Regional Cooperation Minister Tzachi Hanegbi of the Likud Party several days ago.

Another 31% said they disagreed with Hanegbi’s comments, while 18% said they did not know.

Hanegbi’s comments came in response to a declaration by Bayit Yehudi chairman and Education Minister Naftali Bennett that he would advance a law to annex Ma’aleh Adumim after President-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20, as the first step of a broader plan to annex all of Area C of the West Bank.

Sixty-nine percent of Jewish Israelis said they believe Trump’s attitude toward Israel would be either moderately or very friendly, 12% said he would be neutral and just 3% said he would be unfriendly, while 50% said they believed he would uphold his promise to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem.

More than 70% of respondents said they believe Israel would be able to keep building in the settlements during Trump’s administration.

The index also measured public opinion on the military trial of Sgt. Elor Azaria, who was convicted of manslaughter this week after shooting a Palestinian terrorist who was lying prostrate on the ground in the head.

A significant majority of the Jewish public believes that the trial was unfair, and an even larger majority believes that putting him on trial itself was unjustified.

According to the poll, which was conducted before the verdict was handed down this week, 57% of Jewish Israelis believe that Azaria’s trial was conducted unfairly, compared to 30% who said it had been fair and 13% who said they did not know.

Furthermore, 60% of Jewish Israelis said Azaria should never have been tried at all, compared to 34% who said his trial was justified.

The survey was conducted using information gleaned from 600 respondents aged 18 and over with a margin of error of 4.1%.

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30 Comments

Ah. Another of them polls. Be that as it may, for what polls are worth there are positive notes in that poll, but the highlight is on something else. We all coincide on that we should wait until after the new administration is in power in the US.

That anyone should think that a poll published by the well known “Israel Democracy Institute” is accurate – or even nearly true – is very strange indeed. LLPs [leftist leaning pollsters] like the “Israel Democracy Institute” have shown themselves famous in their ability to fool themselves and to try to fool the rest of us, like in the recent elections. Of course, it is the DEPLORABLES who ruin the picture painted by the LLP.

Half of Jewish Israelis believe that unilaterally annexing Judea and Samaria would cause problems for the State of Israel,

BWAAHAHAHAHHAHHAHHHA If a Jew breathes in Israel it would “cause problems”… therefore the poll should say 95% or half of Jews beleive it would cause no problems.

despite support for continued settlement construction, a significant number of respondents, some 51%, said that a unilateral annexation of Judea and Samaria would be a disaster, as argued by Regional Cooperation Minister Tzachi Hanegbi of the Likud Party

HMMMM.. so which is it… “would cause problems” or “would be a disaster” or “agreed with Hanegbi”… I notice no actual poll questions or poll results… just summaries in the writers own words.

According to the poll, which was conducted before the verdict was handed down this week, 57% of Jewish Israelis believe that Azaria’s trial was conducted unfairly, compared to 30% who said it had been fair and 13% who said they did not know.

Furthermore, 60% of Jewish Israelis said Azaria should never have been tried at all, compared to 34% who said his trial was justified.

no wonder the crooks sent Halut to try to extort Azariya Dad to not file an appeal. I am waiting for someone to accuse Yaalon and eisenkot of commiting crimes and demanding and indictment from Mandebilt instead of a cover up. The closest I am getting so far is this

the whole case and the Duma case is chock full of criminal offenses and cover ups… this is a straw in the haystack.. pull on the thread and let it unravel… demand an AG investigation of Yaalon and Eisenkot.

some 62% of Jewish Israelis believe that Israel should not cease construction

There is no legal reason NOT to settle Jews in YS.. the land was earmarked for the settlement of world Jewry. No UN resolution bars Jews from being settled there… the resolutions are always about israeli citizens….. under the GC. Whatever that argument is.. it is irrelevant to the settling of world or diaspora Jews who do not have Israeli citizenship …. hence… settle diaspora jews.. give them free land grants of the state lands from ottoman times to immigrate many to settle in YS. Who will argue that Jews should not be settled there… there has never been a cancelation of Jewish rights. The deligitimizers use the GC and Israeli nationals… so do an end run in the meantime and settle diaspora jews… bring in whole communities of diaspora Jews..while folks argue about israeli citizens. Israel can claim that it is merely continuing the mandate obligations on all LON signators and guarantors AND on UN charter signatories. Settling diaspora Jews can be completely unrelated to any claims or non claims of Israel to YS…. two separate parties and interests… which may not coincide.

The Muslim world/the West has for the past 68 years given an Hobson’s choice to the Jews. It is high time for IL to get the Palestinian their own Hobson’s choice and get them out if they refuse to live in peace in Israel, J & S and Golan included. That must be the Israeli position as soon as Bibi meet with Donald. Anything less will be detrimental to Israel.

and not just diaspora Jews. This is an email from my cousin in Israel from two years ago.

“…My wife … passed away yesterday morning and funeral was yesterday afternoon in Elkana. She was buried next to her first husband,… She was 87 with five children, 20 Grandchildren and 21 Great Grandchildren…”

I have been sitting shiva in her daughter …’s home in Elkana. From tomorrow night, I will sit the rest of Shiva at home in Ginot Shomron.”

— From 2014:

“…According to a 2014 study by the Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel, the Jewish state has “one of the highest birthrates in the developed world, with an average of three children per woman compared to an average of 1.7 children in the OECD,” the 35-member Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Of course, H’aaretz disagrees. According to this article, the housing shortage is imaginary! See, it only looks bad if you compare it with the needs of Israelis instead of comparing it to the situation in select cities in other countries. This could be comedy if they weren’t serious. And these people want to run (ruin) the country, the world. :

I ask who are those diaspora Jews that would settle? Most Jews have never been to Israel or have any desire to visit.

most of the pioneers of Israel in the past had never been there and the lack of a desire to visit is because the whole pioneering spirit of the early days has disappeared. Zionism has been slain by Jews. Israeli “zionists” today want to give away YS… duh? Where would young jews go to fulfill that zionist and pioneering spirit? Israel is now a tech start up nation that does not market pioneering zionism. What I am talking about is a total program: 1-assign all possible vacant lands in YS to a US homestead act type program to settle Jews in YS 2- start an education and marketing program to Jews throughout europe and South america primarily The same factors against jews are in play but nothing is there to lure them to a new life. Market to Jewish communities that are open to zionism.. religious or secular. Market to individuals as a way to start a new life with land. Create town plans and kibbutzes. Try to bring entire communities from the diaspora. Do not limit this to ashkenazi… market to lost jewish tribes who are patriotic to Israel and Jews. Apparently the majority of Jews are lost with the 10 tribes. 3-give free land grants to eligible diaspora jews in YS outside the major blocks. 4- create new international zionist orgs to fund the emigration of the Jews from the various areas of the world. The current jewish orgs are corrupted by political agenda of the state of Israel who subordinates the rights of world jewry to their own perceived self interests. 5-Israel will act as a de facto trustee of diaspora jewry just like UK and UN, to carry out the mandate…. without contradicting its own perceived self interest to leave YS.

The legal and diplomatic justifications would be based on the rights of world Jewry derived through balfour & LON mandate The program would be justified as a massive affirmative action program designed to mitigate the enormous damage to the rights of world Jewry to immigrate and settle ALL the land… that enormous damage being caused by a long hiatus and obstruction of that settlement by UK, Jordan and the state of israel… all of whom obstructed and harmed the legal rights of world Jewry. The world understands Affirmative action programs are created to mitigate damages caused by prior illegal damages, as a common legal tool of redress. Israel can continue to settle its own citizens within the Jewish ghetto boundaries AND continue to militarily occupy the west bank until future resolution. Israel can declare it has a legal and moral obligation as the current administrator of the west bank to fulfill the continuing dictates, obligations and prime diretive of the internationally legally binding LON mandate as continued in UN art 80…. that prime directive being to immigrate and settle world jewry to ALL the mandate land. Israel can state that world Jewish settlement does not violate the GC because of its restrictions of settlement from its own citizens. This should satisfy the jews of Israel who dont want YS while preventing their personal desires from destroying the rights of world Jews to settle there. The Jews of C can later decide what they want later.. to be annexed with Israel, have a separate state or confederation, etc

The land belongs to those diaspora Jews still to come to the mandated territory.

The main thing here being to settle Jews massively and quickly. Free land grants, education, marketing, funding of emigration and immigration… this will revive the zionist spirit and the spirit of all young folks to start new lives… its a return to zionism …. outside of the current state of israel. Free land has worked before to quickly settle folks.. ask the USA

@ bernard ross: Sounds fine but, you know, we are a long way from from ’67 and Housing Minister Sharon’s easily revoked government programs to encourage Jewish settlement. I believe that if they just took off all the restrictions, you’d see Jewish cities springing up all over the place. And it would be much harder to legally justify pushing Jews off land that was not given to them by the government in the first place. In my opinion, the government, including the courts, should just get out of the way and protect the peace.

I believe that if they just took off all the restrictions, you’d see Jewish cities springing up all over the place. And it would be much harder to legally justify pushing Jews off land that was not given to them by the government

thats nice…but you are still relying on Israelis to fuel the settlement AND you are not dealing with the international and Israeli left. They avoid doing what you aver due to settlement of Israeli citizens under the GC, the Israeli gov has itself determined that it follows GC ocupation law, half of Israelis dont want YS.. Israeli majority is satisfied with what it has… basically Israeel only brings in Jews to settle in the designated ghetto boundaries… duh… the problem is to settle YS, the problem is that Israelis do not want to settle YS… those same folks want to maintian the restrictions on Israelis to settle YS. I would like to see a shurat Ha din to represnt diaspora jewish interests in YS. You havevnt come up with any new approach to deal with the problem that the majority of Israelis dont want to settle YS… if they did they would have pressured their gov to return to the past policies by now You want a gov to lift restrictions but it is that gov that maintains restrictions… and that gov is supposed to represent the Israeli right. The decisiions surrounding YS are embroiled in the future of the current population of Israel and they dont care about YS for themselves. Even for security purposes they should seek to settle new jews in YS. you are ignoring the problem

And it would be much harder to legally justify pushing Jews off land that was not given to them by the government in the first place.

why would it be harder to push jews off land NOT given them by gov in free land grants? and like today… they would not be seen as jews but as Israelis…the GC… you are going round in circles ignoring the narrative. I am saying to bypass the narrative and return to settling JEWS. Where do Jews making Aliya to Israel settle now… that is the question AND the answer. There needs to be a specific program to settle YS with JEWS as originally envisaged not only Israelis who are already in Israel. Hence the need for a free land grant program to make sure that those lands in YS designated for jews is settled by Jews… AND to repair the past damage from UK, Jordan and Israel to those rights.

The state and people of Israel have made it VERBOTEN for Jews making aliya to settle in Judea Samaria…. this is a travesty of justice AND morality. Why have those israeli Jews done this?

A- Cost of public land in Y&S controlled by the government is effectively 0. The expense and cost is infrastructure roads, water, electric and sewage….. Because of terrain it is more expensive than providing same in Israel within green-line.

B- There is no problem or shortage of demand by Israelis for housing over the Green-Line. Only a shortage of housing which drives the costs up just like Jerusalem and virtually all over Israel.

C- Despite lower cost housing over the Green-Line a majority for many reasons among them security fears so far have refused to consider moving to Y&S so it appeals to mostly committed Jews and some willing to chance perceived danger and some inconveniences for low cost higher standard of living.

D_ Don’t know about you but I am not aware of say American Jews who would be attracted to free land and requirements to build and live there for say 10years before they could sell property. American and Most European Jews have little interest in Israel and such an inducement is of no value they are generally well off where they are and don’t need freebees or to their minds Israel itself…. (Not all but I think most!)

I define a Zionist as one who has come to live in Israel or plans to immigrate as opposed to Jews and Gentiles who might be supportive of the Jewish State….

Putting aside most of your comment as irrelevant until you can demonstrate that there are enough Jews willing to come and settle in Israel no less in Y&S under any circumstances and inducements. I personally don’t see them….Israel has pretty much drained the diaspora of reservoir of Jews who would come to Israel voluntarily and if I understand Western Jewish mentality if things get tough they will in the majority first move to another friendly Western country before considering Israel

Our real problem is Jews, not Arabs. Palestinian guerrillas are nuisance; they cannot defeat the Jewish state. Jews can. Israel originally attracted only Jews with pioneer mentality who overcame barriers to enter the land. Even the post-WWII aliyah was zealous: Jews who preferred safety, stayed in Europe. Brainwashing in Israeli schools and huge economically motivated Russian aliyah of 1980-90s turned Israel into a ghetto. Most Jews are still passively normal: they want a state without Arabs, favor overwhelming reprisals, detest Arabs, and respect religiosity. That’s not enough: passively normal Jews cannot counter the active Left. Leftists come to power on the heels of massive propaganda and Arab votes, not supported by Jewish majority, but only the result matters: leftists reign. Actively normal right wing Jews cannot hope to change the balance in Israel, short of a major civil war – not an unwelcome prospect. For now, Jewish normalcy is doomed in Tel Aviv and the beachside Israel. Normal Jews can build a normal Jewish state only in leftist-free areas – the settlements.

@ bernard ross: On the other hand, your suggestion might work if the government explicitly said that it was enforcing the legal obligations imposed on but violated by the British to implement the League of Nations Mandate to facilitate close Jewish settlement of all of the land from the river to the sea as required by international law as you are suggesting. Abbas just tried to sue the UK over Balfour though it was adopted as law by the league of nations . Can Israel sue the UK for it’s failure/refusal to enforce it?

irrelevant until you can demonstrate that there are enough Jews willing to come and settle in Israel no less in Y&S under any circumstances and inducements.

the zealousness was not religious.. but it is also not driven by materialism. Israel markets against zionism… there are no goals to build a nation.. the only struggle now is jews struggling against each other.

Instead of trying to change Israeli politics, normal Jews should develop autonomy of settlements with the goal of eventually expanding the autonomy into the state of Judea – at Arab expense.

you contradict yourself… you said Israelis are not interested enough to even petition their gov to allow jews. There are plenty of poor and middle class jews world wide, plus young ones who would love a free land grant and financial help in immigrating. the current aliya mechanism does not allow anyone into YS, the goi does not want it. Your reasoning leads you in circles with no solutions, only saying nothing can work. Free land grants have worked before and can work again. I see no hope of a change in the GOI other than maybe bennet getting in. therefore, the answer lies in new jew to YS.. Israelis are prohibited. Why would foreign jews who are zealous go to Israel? i am not talking about religious zealots but idealistic jews? All the attractions of zionism is dead, killed by Israel. You went to sinai, others went to gaza.. jews need to go to YS.. israelis cant even open their mouth for YS.

LOL, its a 2 hour “clip” From what you say, and what I observe, I see no hope of the current poplation makeup of Israel demanding jewish settlement in YS.. its just a housing matter there. I say solve the problem by bringing in new jews to YS.. there are lots of jews out there who are not rich or comfy.. one must market and rebuild zionism.. its a dirty word because of jews in israel who spread that narrative. its absurd when the zionist union wants to give the jewish homeland to the muslims.

@ yamit82: I agree completely with r kahane wrt Hevron and tel aviv… and YS… if the Jews cannot claim Hevron and Judea how can they claim tel aviv other than they are there. When did Israel cease promoting Jews settling in YS and why?

Israel promoted heavily settlements before Sharon acquiested to Bush Demand to cease building new settlements but received concession so he thought of allowing Jews to build within existing settlements. Those buildings in settlement blocks go to families already there when children marry or return from army service and want to continue to live close to parents and family. Not enough housing available for existing residents no less than new immigrants but that said Immigrants have been buying homes from those leaving on the open market but do to demand the prices are very high. I almost bought a home in a settlement many years ago during construction faze and it and others at the time were highly promoted and sold out quickly way before any dwelling was completed. Demand was always high because no matter where one lived it was close to-major population centers inside the Green Line like Tel Aviv or Jerusalem making most bedroom suburbia.

As you can see the Government of Israel does a lot to encourage and aid all immigrants and those living across the Green line have additional discounts and subsidies from the government given to all Israelis.

Yet there is no mass demand or mass immigration to settlements yet there are already some half million Jews living there not including Jerusalem suburbs in parts included in Jerusalem but built in East over Green Line all together we have so 800,000 Jews living over the Green Line.

It has been my experience the most successful immigrants are those who came for other than idealistic motivations. Many if not most immigrants who have come to Israel in the past 100 years gave up and left with in the first 2 years.

No contradiction????? Free Land ain’t no problem it’s the cost and problems involved with building the inconveniences of living in semi Isolation and the intrinsic danger from their Arab neighbors….. When idealism meets the harsh everyday realities, in most cases idealism loses.

Jews coming to Israel under the N’fesh b Nfesh program have a 90% retention rate. Currently come from USA & Canada as of August 2016 total about 50,000 Jews.

So there are people making Aliyah. French are also immigrating. 5000 to 7000 for the last three years or so. More coming. Jews from Russia and Ukraine are also making aliyah.

If you get rid of the possibility or returning land in Judea/Samaria more people would move there. The idea of moving somewhere and you could lose your home in the future is a real turnoff. So applying Israeli law or annexing is very important for the further development of Jewish Judea/Samaria.

233 North Americans will arrive in Israel on an El Al Boeing 777 chartered by Nefesh B’Nefesh and officially make Aliyah next Wednesday, August 17. The flight is being facilitated in cooperation with Israel’s Ministry of Aliyah & Immigrant Absorption, the Jewish Agency for Israel, Keren Kayemeth Le’Israel (KKL), JNF-USA and Tzofim-Garin Tzabar.

The passengers include 75 young men and women who will become Israeli citizens and volunteer in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). They are moving to Israel as ‘Lone Soldiers’, youngsters who left their families in the US and Canada to move to Israel and volunteer for the Israeli Army. They will join the over 900 Lone Soldiers from the US, and the 3,000 Lone Soldiers from around the world who are currently serving in the IDF.

The flight’s other passengers include a diverse mix of people from 22 US states and one Canadian province, including 24 families, 78 children and 10 medical professionals. Ages of immigrants range from 3.5 weeks to 85 years old.

With this flight, NBN will celebrate its 50,000th immigrant brought to Israel with the organization, which was founded in 2002.

@ Bear Klein: So what? Sounds like a lot to me. Israel has 8.3 million people of whom 80 percent are Jewish. There’s not that many Jews in the world and thousands have come every year. 50,000 is greater than the entire Jewish population of Hungary, Mexico, or Brazil as of 2014. Religious Zionist households in Yesha have many children who need housing. What’s needed is to end the restrictions on Jews in the Jewish homeland. Israel just got the highest financial ratings, has the most startups, one of the most robust economies in the world, and now, not only self-sufficient in energy but on the edge of being a major exporter! Israel doesn’t need the diaspora; the diaspora needs Israel to just be there and be safe. Also, would you want to move someplace whose status was uncertain, where you had to live under martial law, where terrorists might get you?